Put simply, schedule padding is the adding of extra time into a schedule, increasing the chances of the published flight departure and arrival times being met. This often involves adding a 10% buffer into flight schedules - in other words, scheduling the flight time to be 10% longer than it normally is in reality.
Many airlines have dedicated scheduling teams that calculate planned flight times based on a variety of elements, including past flight data, weather trends, air traffic control patterns, and seasonal shifts. In 1987, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) introduced the on-time performance disclosure rule requiring airlines to publish their delay statistics. According to a report by Robert Koebert of Finance Buzz, "research shows that in the first five years of this rule, airlines increased their scheduled flight times by10 percent, which increased their on-time arrival performance by20 percent in that time frame."
This buffer can build some flexibility into the schedule, allowing airlines tocontinue to operate their planned schedule. Airlines are keen to avoid delays,as they can often be costly operationally, financially, and in terms of theirreputation. The latter is an especially crucial consideration in crowdedaviation markets such as those in North America, Asia, and Europe.
However, it is also worth considering that adding extra time into flightschedules can actually lead to a decrease in the number of flights that eachaircraft is able to operate in a given day, in turn reducing operationalefficiency and competitiveness. It can also lead to frustration for passengers,as their real-life experience may end up being somewhat different from theexpected flight time. According to a report from FlyMag, Henry Harteveldt, aTravel Industry Analyst said,"Padding may improve airlines' on-time records,but it can frustrate passengers who realize they're spending more time traveling than necessary.Transparency is key."
How prevalent is schedule padding?
According to a report by Mighty Travels,"the average time added into airline flight schedules across North America has increased by27% between 2012 and 2023. Data also shows that the average buffer has risen to around10-15% of the total flight time."
When looking at specific examples across the region,Mighty Travels states that Southwest Airlines has a median schedule padding time of11 minutes. Finance Buzz states that Alaska Airlines added 11.3% to its flights,United Airlines just over , with American Airlines and Delta Air Lines at % and %, respectively.Hawaiian Airlines has the lowest added time at just % to its median flight time of minutes.
Schedule padding is often more prevalent at major hub airports,such as Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), New York John F.Kennedy International Airport (JFK),and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).This is because when operating insuch slot-constrained conditions ,airlines are more likely topick up delays.Delays can also escalate throughoutthe day ,meaningthat themore flights an aircraft operates ina given day,themore proneitcan betooperational disruption .
Schedulepadding exists outsidethe UStoo ,witha searchon Google Flights clearly showingthedifferences inscheduled blocktimesonflights operatingthesame route.For example,the scheduledblocktimesfor non-stopflightsbetween BeijingCapitalInternationalAirport(PEK)and BangkokSuvarnabhumiInternationalAirport(BKK)onthesame dayvaryfrom three hoursand minutes tofours hours-a differenceofminutes.Meanwhile ,flightsbetween SãoPauloGuarulhosInternationalAirport(GRU)and BogotáElDoradoInternationalAirport(BOG)rangefromfivehoursandminutes tosixhoursandtenminutes .
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"On atypicalflightthat hasminutes scheduledfromdeparturetimetoarrivaltime,thiscanbebroken downintothefollowing:"statesFinanceBuzz:
"87minutesofactualflyingtime
22minutesontheground(beforetake-offand/orafterlanding)
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